Chapter 6: The Time Machine That Helps With Organizing
“There’s something called ‘The Time Machine That Helps With Organizing.’ What could this possibly be?”
Hyejin looked at Asha as she spoke, and Asha answered with the corners of her mouth curling up into a sly grin.
“Just take a look. I guarantee it’ll be a machine you desperately need.”
“Normally a time machine lets you go to the past or the future, right? But I don’t think there’ll ever be a reason to go to the future in a convenience store.”
“Who knows, one day you might need to go to the future too.”
“No way, that’s ridiculous. And what does that have to do with organizing anyway?”
“If you’re so curious, just check what it is.”
Still wearing a half-doubting expression, Hyejin tapped the status window, and the item description immediately popped up.
The Time Machine That Helps With Organizing
Price: 500,000 gold
Item Description: As long as it is within one hour, you can go anywhere.
Experience the fresh sensation of traveling to one hour ago or one hour from now!
However, please be cautious as there may be side effects such as stopping the time of people around you (except the user) or sending them to the past.
This time machine only applies to humans, so non-human animals may not be restricted by the time machine.
500,000 gold.
It was definitely more expensive than the other items.
Yet it was an item she absolutely had to buy, even if she would regret it later.
The ability to stop or rewind time would clearly be useful in situations beyond just organizing products.
The moment Hyejin purchased the time machine item, a small wristwatch fastened itself around her wrist.
The strap was made of metal, and the round, adorably decorated face was cute.
“It’s so cute! I needed a watch for work anyway. This is perfect!”
“If I knew you’d like it this much, I would’ve bought you a normal wristwatch ages ago.”
“Asha, this isn’t just a normal wristwatch. It’s a watch that can rewind or stop time!”
“Yeah, yeah. Then shouldn’t you start organizing the products now?”
“Ah, right. I need to hurry and hurry. I want to try using it at least once. I should get familiar with how it works too.”
Hyejin picked up the piece of paper in front of her that looked like an instruction manual.
It was the paper that had thud fallen to the floor when she bought the watch.
The page was densely packed with explanations about the time machine.
<The Time Machine That Helps With Organizing>
A watch that is useful to convenience store managers.
To create this product we… (omitted)
This watch can be set in 5-minute, 10-minute, or 15-minute increments using the hour and minute hands.
If you wish to go back 5 minutes, adjust the hands to 5 minutes before the current time.
If you wish to go to the future, similarly set it to a time within one hour from now.
To return to the present, please press the OFF button on the watch.
Q&A Corner
Q. Can it not be used simply to stop time?
A.It is possible! However, because stopping time is extremely dangerous, we do not recommend overuse.
You can stop time without limit, but only the registered user may do so, and the moment you leave the convenience store premises you will immediately return to the current time.
Please be careful!
When the lifespan of the time machine watch ends, please purchase watch medicine from the manager-exclusive shop.
However, you cannot insert the purchased medicine yourself; it can only be reused by commissioning an SS-rank crafter.
Although there is no grade restriction for using this item, if an ordinary person uses it, it will only function as a normal wristwatch.
In other words, ordinary people cannot use this watch.
Caution: If used excessively, a warning sound may ring.
“I just need to use it carefully in moderation.”
Hyejin alternated her gaze between the boxes of goods Lee Seungseok had delivered and the watch.
Until now she had only done cashier work, but from now on she had to deal with customers and organize products at the same time.
She had hired a part-timer, but it was still impossible for just the two of them—Hyejin and the part-timer—to run this huge convenience store.
Even if they took turns, there would definitely be times when customers flooded in and one person alone couldn’t handle everything.
This was a special convenience store that would be overwhelming to work alone for more than eight hours.
That’s why shift workers for morning, afternoon, and night were absolutely necessary.
Only then could Hyejin flexibly jump in and help whenever needed.
“Phew, then let’s really start organizing now. Asha, won’t you help me a little with the products?”
“What can a four-legged animal even help with? So annoying.”
“Come on, don’t be like that—just help me. I’m begging you.”
“You really are a troublesome human.”
“I’m not just any human; I’m a hunter who works under a cat.”
Hyejin smiled playfully and put on the vest that allowed her to use more than ten times her normal strength.
She had built up some muscle from various part-time jobs until now, but working at a convenience store inside a dungeon required even more stamina.
No—honestly, even a normal convenience store required quite a lot of physical strength.
She suddenly remembered something a rude customer had once sneered at her.
[Wow. Must be nice being a convenience store clerk. So easy. You just stand there and ring people up.]
According to him, when there were no customers you just played on your phone, greeted customers quietly when they came in, and that was it—an easy place to kill time.
If it looks that easy, try doing it yourself.
It’s not just dealing with customers; you have to organize products, line them up by expiration date, and even check the IDs of minors trying to buy alcohol—because if you sell to sell to them by mistake you get fined and the store can be shut down!
There’s so much you have to check every single time a customer comes and goes.
Hyejin zipped up the vest, rolled up her sleeves, and spoke to Asha.
“Of all the items you gave me, Asha, I like this vest the most. It feels like I’ve become super strong.
With this much strength I could probably lift most guys without any effort.”
“It’s cute how you’re getting cocky just because you got a little stronger.”
“Hm? What did you just say?”
“Nothing. Hurry up and work.”
“Got it. Oh, wait. When customers come it’ll definitely get hectic, so should I try stopping time for a bit?”
Hyejin looked at the time machine watch on her wrist, moved the hands, and set it to exactly midnight.
Immediately, the hunters who had been moving energetically outside the store began to slow down… and then completely stopped.
“Wow! This is seriously so amazing! Did the entire dungeon’s time stop?”
“Probably not. Did you read the manual all the way to the end?”
“I thought there wouldn’t be anything important at the end, so I skipped it.”
“This machine only affects a 100-meter radius around it. So deeper inside the dungeon, fights are still continuing.”
“Really? Then this really is a watch made just for convenience store managers.”
“As long as you, Hyejin, don’t leave the vicinity of the store, it’ll be a fantastic item.But if it ever falls into the wrong hands, this time machine will become a weapon.”
“That’s scary. Okay, I’ll be careful.”
Hyejin waved her hands dismissively and peered into the plastic crates.
Just like the convenience stores she had worked at before, the first and second crates were filled with various daily necessities.
She started organizing the bulky items first.
There were empty display shelves, so organizing wasn’t difficult.
Above all, because time was stopped, no customers would enter the store, making everything far easier.
Thanks to the vest as well, Hyejin could effortlessly lift boxes that she normally wouldn’t even dream of carrying.
She no longer had to walk back and forth to where the boxes were, so she saved a ton of time.
She smoothly finished the first and second crates, and the moment she opened the third crate, Hyejin looked at Asha with wide, shocked eyes.
“W-What is this?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Camping sets for hunters? Aesthetic garlands and lights for sentimental hunters, tents from 1-person up to 5-person for party members…? And the price is a whopping 100,000 gold?”
“Ah, I specially ordered those.”
“You did, Asha?”
“This dungeon can’t be cleared in a single day; people have to stay for several days. And there are no inns or hotels, right? Hunters will probably end up living in caves or up in trees. They’ll even light bonfires to keep monsters away. It’s not much different from primitive life, is it?”
“That may be true… but will hunters actually buy camping gear?”
“Why wouldn’t they? They’ll definitely buy it and love it. Plus, these tents were custom-made—I asked special crafters—so monsters barely notice them. They automatically change to protective coloration when certain monsters approach.
They’re really great products.”
“…I guess?”
Hearing the performance specs made the absurd price suddenly seem understandable.
Still, to buy something like this on a whim…
Hyejin suddenly recalled what Lee Seungseok had said.
A young and handsome boss.
Young & Rich.
If there really was someone behind Asha, was Asha just an errand runner for him?
“Um, Asha. There’s something I want to ask. By any chance, behind you—”
“Behind me? What’s behind me?”
“Ah, no, I didn’t mean it like that—is there someone else behind you? That boss person. The handsome Young & Rich guy.”
Asha stared silently at Hyejin for a long moment, then let out a deep sigh.
“Don’t be curious about that person. When the time comes, he will appear before you. Even I can’t tell you anything about the boss. Because he is not someone who lives in the same world as you.”
“Tch, so he’s an insanely rich person.”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant the world itself is different.”
“No, it’s fine. I know my place. I’m only an F-rank hunter after all. Fine. I’ll work hard and definitely become an SS-rank hunter. Then even if I’m not on the same level as that boss, I’ll at least earn a lot of money.”
“Well, if you’re going to let it go like that, it works for me.”
Asha muttered softly, but the words didn’t reach Hyejin’s ears.
Hyejin looked inside the crate again and pondered where to place these items.
“Where would be good? Tents… tents. I’ve never sold tents at a convenience store before.”
“They’re not much different from normal tents, so there won’t be any problem selling them. Just in case hunters ask how to use them, check the product guide in the manager-exclusive shop.”
“They’re not even something I bought from the manager shop—will there really be a tent guide in there?”
“It’s literally a shop for the manager. All information about products sold in the convenience store is stored there. How much you can make use of it is entirely up to you.”
“I see. That’s how it is. I’m really looking forward to the future.”
For some reason Hyejin felt excited.
She really liked this convenience store that sold such unusual items.
Even though she had barely slept for the past week, just looking at the mysterious wristwatch made her smile involuntarily.
Seeing that, Asha spoke to Hyejin.
“How about making a manual for the hunter Lee Suho who’s coming tomorrow? It’ll be much more convenient for you to give the part-timers a manual than to teach each one individually.”
Hyejin nodded at Asha’s words.
It was a very good suggestion.